An opportunity to comment on a life very full, with room for improvement, and little time to do it.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Shrimp Scampi

We haven't made this yet, but at least we have all the ingredients. Maybe this week. If we aren't eating at the snack bar at the pool.

A couple of weeks ago, I dug out some shrimp from the freezer to make a batch of shrimp scampi, which I served over polenta. It was very tasty. Here's another scampi recipe, which looks just as good, from Simply Recipes.

Shrimp Scampi

If you are using frozen shrimp, defrost them quickly and safely by putting the shrimp in a large bowl of ice water.

Ingredients

1 pound large (16-20 count) shrimp, shelled* and de-veined, tail-on for presentation if you want

Salt

3-4 garlic cloves, slivered, or 1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 Tbsp lemon juice

* Whether you prepare the shrimp shell on or off is really up to you. Cooking the shrimp with the shells still on will impart more flavor, but they are much messier to eat. Shelling the shrimp before cooking them will make the shrimp a lot easier to eat and you can save the shells for shellfish stock if you want.

Method

Heat a sauté pan on high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter melts, foams up and subsides, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Sauté for a minute, or until you see the edges of some of the garlic just beginning to brown.

As soon as the garlic begins to brown, add the shrimp to the pan. Then add the white wine and stir to combine and coat the shrimp with the butter, oil, and wine. Spread the shrimp out in an even layer in the pan. Increase the heat to the highest setting and let the wine boil vigorously for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the shrimp over, or toss them so the cooked sides are mostly facing up, and boil the wine for another minute. Remove from the heat, add the parsley and toss to combine. Add the lemon juice and black pepper.

Serve alone, with crusty bread, over pasta, or over rice (for gluten-free version).